


Look to the Stars

by hunny_k



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Happy Ending, M/M, Noct is alive and they reminisce, Waking up from a nightmare, Zine: Beginning of Forever (Final Fantasy XV), walks through a garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:42:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunny_k/pseuds/hunny_k
Summary: Prompto sometimes has nightmares about what could have taken place if Noctis hadn't made it out of that final battle alive. After a particularly bad one, he and Noctis go for a walk around the Citadel to help him relax.This was my piece for the Beginning of Forever zine! It was super fun to work on, and I'm proud of this little thing. Hope you guys like it!
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	Look to the Stars

Prompto awoke with a gasp. His breathing was labored, his eyes wide. The darkness was still surrounding him, seeping into his lungs and digging under his nails. He could feel the sweat of battle coating his skin from his forehead down to his back. His mind was racing to the point where he couldn't decipher where he was; all he could see was the blackness that filled his vision. But the worst thing was the  _ grief _ that plagued his heart.

A faint, choked cry sounded in his throat as he propped himself up on wobbly arms. Had he been hurt? Fallen and knocked out? The last thing he could remember was —

"Prompto?" came a quiet murmur.

His head snapped towards the voice. He scrunched up his eyes, trying to blink himself back into reality, until the shadows began to give way to soft grays and blues. It was nighttime, and he was inside.

Sitting up more, Prompto inhaled a breath that trembled in his throat. There was a shift beside him, and then something warm around his middle, and the next thing he knew, Noctis had his cheek pressed against his chest.

That's right, Prompto noted. They were in bed, in their room. He had Noctis right here.

However, that revelation wasn't enough of a dam to block the flow of tears that pressed behind Prompto's eyes. He threw his arms around his husband, squeezing him like he never wanted to let go as he began to stain his shirt with tears. 

It was an instant relief when he felt those arms embrace him in return. Noctis sat up more, rubbed Prompto's back, and spoke whispers that he couldn't quite make out through his emotions. Whatever the words, they soothed his cries down to sniffles in minutes.

Once he had settled into an exhausted heap against Noctis, Prompto let out a soft noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a disgruntled whine. "Sorry for waking you up," he mumbled.

Noctis never stopped the slow circles against his back. "Hey, don't apologize. You were really freaked out. Nightmare?"

A small nod from Prompto. "Yeah. It was...." The image of Noctis' body limp against the throne flashed before him once again, and he seized up. His arms tightened around Noctis; he needed to remind himself of his physicality, that the warmth of life hadn't left him.

"It was bad," he ended up getting out. 

That was an understatement. Still, Noctis nodded, his hair tickling Prompto's skin. "Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked. 

Prompto closed his eyes, trying to force the image to go blank. "I guess." He took a deep breath. "It was about that last battle. With Ardyn. You...you didn't get out of it alive. I found your body on the throne. I-I ran up to you, but you were so broken, a-and — "

The lump in his throat made it too painful to continue. He scrunched up his eyes, biting this side of his cheek hard until he could taste a hint of blood. 

Noctis shifted more, and Prompto realized that he was being pulled into his lap. Everything about him seemed to flood into his senses — the warmth of his chest, scarred underneath clothing but soft against him; that familiar scent of his lingering shampoo mixed with a hint of freshwater fish that he hadn't quite gotten rid of from the previous day’s fishing trip; the tranquilizing effect that his slow breathing had on Prompto's worried heart. He did his best to swallow the lump and focus his attention on the man holding him that was very much alive.

A minute passed, then several more. The unrest that had Prompto in a frenzy had ebbed away for the most part, but he knew that returning to sleep would be a fruitless effort. 

After a beat, Prompto sniffled. "Really, Noct, you should go back to sleep. I know you're probably tired, and I don't want to keep you up," he murmured.

Fingers brushed through his hair. "I'm tired," came Noctis' sleepy voice, "but I wouldn't leave you alone. I'll stay up."

Prompto huffed a slight laugh. "You, staying awake? Maybe I'm still dreaming."

Noctis gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Nope, I'm pretty sure you're awake. But I can test that for you." Before Prompto could respond, Noctis’ lips were on his neck. He pressed a kiss there, then another, and more until Prompto was squirming. Snorts of laughter erupted, Prompto trying to shove his arms against his husband's chest and nearly falling over in the process.

"Stop that, you're not helping!" he hiccuped through laughter.

"Oh, I think I am," Noctis returned. He had his face smushed against Prompto's skin, and he'd made it even worse by starting to tickle him. Prompto was practically howling with laughter by the time he managed to escape Noctis' clutches to the other side of the bed.

He flung himself onto his back, his chest rising and falling heavily as the giggles died down. "You're awful," he stated.

Prompto closed his eyes as he listened to the shuffle of the bedsheets. Next thing he knew, there were lips pressed gently to his. Noctis always kissed him in these moments like it was the highlight of his life, like if he didn't get it right, then he'd miss his chance. But he also treated him with love and care, the knowing softness of comforting Prompto when he needed it most. As Prompto slid his arms around Noctis' neck, he couldn't help but send a silent thanks to the gods for keeping this man in his life. A selfish thought, really, but one he wouldn't deny.

When they parted, neither spoke for a few long moments. Prompto opened his eyes to see Noctis gazing into them, and he felt his heart constrict as his breath hitched. That cool gray-blue that wrapped him up and soothed his every worry was right there, mere inches above him. Even now, he could remember so vividly that fiery light that had taken root in Noctis' eyes when he emerged from the crystal. He recalled the fear that he'd felt when they spent those last moments together, wondering if it would be the last he'd see of them.

He was making himself emotional again, he knew. But he just couldn't help it.

Noctis pressed another soft kiss to his lips, warm and sweet. "Come with me. I think we could both use some air," he spoke quietly.

He was about to object, not wanting to keep him awake after interrupting his sleep, but he bit his tongue. Noctis wouldn't hear any of that.

So he gave a slight nod and sat upright when Noctis moved off of him. In the quiet of the night, the king and his consort shuffled out of bed and into the hallway in their pajamas.

Even though Prompto still felt some residual guilt, Noctis' presence by his side was a welcome distraction. Their hands quickly found their places against each other's, and they simply walked to nowhere in particular.

The silence between them wasn't very long-lasting, of course. It never was. Noctis gave Prompto's hand a squeeze as they passed a darkened room. "I ever tell you that's where I used to hide from Iggy when I didn't feel like doing my piano lessons?"

Prompto's gaze traveled from the shadows of the room to his husband. He imagined that same bedhead he had now on the young prince, hair sticking up in every which way to where his position was very obvious behind a chair or under a table, and he laughed. "Right down the hall from your room? Seriously? That's such a terrible hiding spot," he teased with a light bump of their shoulders.

"I never said it worked," Noctis replied. "I mean, it's Ignis. He found me pretty fast." That sounded accurate enough.

Swinging their arms more, Prompto turned a corner. "Uh-huh. How are you the king, again?"

"Ouch, Prom."

After a shared laugh, Noctis began pointing out various other rooms full of old memories. That one was where he tried to hide a frog from outside so it could have its own room. This was the hallway where he tripped and knocked out a tooth. The more Prompto asked, the more Noctis recounted stories from his childhood. Even though a good chunk of the Citadel had been rebuilt after the fall, it was as if Noctis could still step into the ghost of each room and relive those memories. 

"You know, you don't have to ask me to talk about myself so much," Noctis pointed out after a while. "I'm not the only one with stories."

Prompto shook his head. "I know. It's just...hearing you talk about the way you grew up is nice. I like hearing you talk."

They didn't have to say why; they both knew what he needed to hear.

Soon enough, they were outside in the secluded space of the Citadel gardens, the surrounding foliage acting as somewhat of a buffer from the sounds of the city.

A stifled yawn sounded to Prompto's side. He wasn't surprised to see Noctis trying to hide it with a hand over his mouth, but it still made him snort. "We can go and sit down somewhere," he offered, not even trying to mask the playful accusation in his voice.

Noctis responded by tugging him closer and planting a kiss on his cheek. "I hear you, and I will take that offer. There's a fountain over there if you don't mind sitting on the wall of it."

That didn't sound too bad, the calm sounds of the fountain serving as a backdrop to their conversation. "Sounds good to me. But if you push me in, I'm drowning you," he warned.

"I'm not gonna do that," Noctis defended. "Damn, I see the trust."

"I'm just saying!" 

More laughter cut their conversation short as they walked over to sit. It took all of two seconds for Prompto to settle with his head on Noctis' shoulder, still holding tight to his hand as he closed his eyes. Usually, despite the lengths he'd gone through to retrain his thinking, the night sky still brought back unpleasant memories. However, whenever he was able to have Noctis nearby in those moments where the depression gripped him, he was able to instead look to the stars and think of the coming sunrise. This was nice.

Slowly, Prompto let out a sigh. "Man, nightmares suck," he commented, his voice just audible above the outdoor silence. "I had a really funny dream the other day about you falling off a chocobo. Why couldn't I have that one again?"

There was a pause before he felt Noctis' chin press to his scalp. "You doing okay?" came his soft voice.

Prompto didn't quite have an answer to that. "I'm calm," he finally said.

"That's good," Noctis murmured in reply.

It was sweet. Noctis was entirely too sweet to him. It was because of how much he loved and cared in the quiet moments that Prompto was able to share so much with him. He was so happy to trust and love him back. That was why...

"I've had that nightmare before," he said out of nowhere. When he knew he had Noctis' full attention, he continued. "It's just...that day, I didn't know if I'd see you alive again. All these things kept running through my head as I watched you leave. I know the other two were in the same boat — we talked about it — but I just couldn't take it. I'd just gotten you back, and I thought I was losing you again.

"Whatever I kept picturing must've stuck real bad to my brain." At this point, he was merely speaking his thoughts, but he didn't care; Noctis rubbed his back to show he was listening. "I prepared myself for the worst, ready to help carry you out of the throne room. So when that didn't happen, I think those images got stored somewhere in me. It kept coming back, like my body was confused at why I hadn't actually seen those things. Gods, I feel like my own mind wanted me to suffer the worst possible scenario."

Prompto pressed his cheek against Noctis' shoulder. "At least, that's my theory on it. Or I just have shit luck with dreams lately," he joked, though it fell a little flat.

He waited for a response, letting Noctis take his time. It wasn't the easiest subject to talk about before the sun even came up.

Finally, Noctis let out a breath that ruffled the tips of Prompto's hair. "I was scared shitless going into that," he stated. That, they both knew. "I'd be lying if I said you were the only one of us thinking that might be the last time. But I want you to know that I told myself over and over that I couldn't leave you, or Ignis or Gladio. There was no way." There was a small kiss pressed to the top of his head. "And I definitely couldn't say a final goodbye before spending my life with you. Hell, I had a proposal to you in mind right out of highschool."

In all rationality, that comment shouldn't have made Prompto blush to his ears. They were already married, for Shiva's sake. Nonetheless, he still found himself hiding his face more against Noctis as he concealed his laughter. "You never told me that."

Noctis snorted. "Because it was embarrassing. I had no idea if you'd want that at the time," he pointed out.

"What I'm trying to say is that I was way too stubborn to not see you again. I know that's not entirely what's been bothering you, but I thought a reminder wouldn't hurt. I love you, and I'm glad I'm here to tell you that." Those words brought a smile to Prompto's face. He was right; it definitely didn't hurt.

Prompto sat upright, turned, and pulled Noctis into a kiss. It was broken by that smile, but that didn't matter. "You're cheesy," he murmured. "I'm so damn happy I don't have to live without that in my life."

Their arms were wrapped tightly around each other as they grew snug against the other, the slight imbalance of it threatening to send them tumbling backwards into the water; Prompto held his heel firm against the fountain wall to help steady them. 

With a quiet sigh, Prompto left a quick peck on Noctis' chin. "Seriously, thanks for staying up with me. You didn't have to do that."

Noctis shrugged, starting up that slow pattern of circles on Prompto's lower back. "I haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time with you in the last week, so it's kinda nice," he stated.

"Yeah? Guess I'll have nightmares more often, then."

"Or maybe don't do that?" Noctis responded.

Prompto snorted a laugh, and Noctis pressed his fingers against his side. "Alright, lighter conversation. Tell me something you enjoyed from when I was gone," he said. 

That had Prompto pursing his lips, his brow scrunched as he recalled bits of those ten years. "Some of it's fuzzy," he admitted, "but…Sometimes, when I was feeling depressed, I'd get up and start travelling around to find the best food place that were still standing. They weren't always the easiest, but I needed something to do that wasn't killing a bunch of daemons all day. One time I came across this little ice cream stall. Super sweet older guy, decided he wanted to start up an ice cream station that went around to different places. Said kids deserved ice cream, even in those times." Prompto's face pulled into a soft smile as he remembered the man. "Seriously, who does that?" he reminisced. 

Noctis hummed an acknowledgement. "Must've been a real nice guy."

Prompto nodded. "He was. I started going out of my way to find him every so often. I'd put aside some of my gil from hunting just to buy an ice cream from him, and he'd always give me an extra scoop while telling me about his granddaughter. Something about him made me feel like a kid, like the darkness wasn't so bad." He exhaled slowly. "I wonder what he's up to lately. I hope he's alright," he said.

"I'm sure someone like that is resilient enough to be doing just fine," Noctis pointed out. He punctuated the statement with a light squeeze to Prompto's waist. 

The smile on Prompto's face never faded. "Yeah...you're right."

"Hey, maybe we can go searching for him sometime soon," Noctis piped up. "I bet if we look hard enough, we can find some legend of a guy selling ice cream during the darkness. I mean, that's kinda badass."

An image of the King going off in search of an ice cream man made Prompto chuckle. He sat up fully to regard Noctis with an enthusiastic light in his eyes. "That would be cool. He'll definitely be surprised, that's for sure," he noted.

Noctis shot him a return smile. "Mh-hm. And I've gotta thank the guy that helped keep you going while I was gone," he added, making Prompto's heart melt all over again. How had he gotten stuck with someone so wonderful?

Just then, a pale twinkle cut across Noctis' cheek. Prompto turned to see the wisps of morning beginning to crawl up over the horizon, the sluggish night receding into streaks of faded orange. He looked back to see Noctis staring out as well. When he'd visited the man, of course, it was always a lovely encounter. He enjoyed the company. But this, right here; this was what had kept Prompto's spirits up during that time. He had cried over ice cream about how much he longed to see the man he loved bathing in the sunlight once again, to have him there to hold, alive and happy. It was his goal, his reason for carrying on. He'd wanted to see Noctis again.

A tear slipped from Prompto's eyes, which he wiped away with the back of his hand and a few sniffles. That drew Noctis' attention, and he had a hand on his cheek in an instant. 

"You okay?" he asked.

Prompto gave a small nod, smiling with all the gentle love he had in his heart. Then he leaned forward into a kiss, and whispered, "Thank you."


End file.
